The History of the Devil Part 26

Thus, I say, first or last the _Devil_ engross'd all the Wise-Men of the East, for so they are call'd; made them all his own, and by them he work'd Wonders, that is, he fill'd the World with lying Wonders, as if wrought by these Men, when indeed it was all his own, from Beginning to the End, and set on Foot meerly to propagate Delusion, impose upon blinded and ignorant Men; the G.o.d of this World blinded their Minds, and they were led away by the Subtilty of the _Devil_, to say no worse of it, till they became _Devils_ themselves, as to Mankind; for they carried on the Devil's Work upon all Occasions, and the Race of them still continue in other Nations, and some of them among our selves, as we shall see presently.

The _Arabians_ follow'd the _Chaldeans_ in this Study, while it was kept within its due Bounds, and after them the _Egyptians_; and among the Latter we find that _Jannes_ and _Jambres_ were famous for their leading _Pharaoh_ by their pretended magic Performances, to reject the real Miracles of _Moses_; and History tells us of strange Pranks the Wise-Men, the Magicians and the Southsayers plaid to delude the People in the most early Ages of the World.

But, as I say, now, the _Devil_ has improv'd himself, so he did then; for the _Grecian_ and _Roman_ Heathen Rites coming on, they outdid all the Magicians and Southsayers, by establis.h.i.+ng the _Devil_'s lying Oracles, which, as a Master-Piece of h.e.l.l, did the _Devil_ more Honour, and brought more Homage to him, than ever he had before, or could arrive to since.

Again, as by the setting up the Oracles, all the Magicians and Southsayers grew out of Credit; so at the ceasing of those Oracles, the _Devil_ was fain to go back to the old Game again, and take up with the Agency of Witches, Divinations, Inchantments and Conjurings, as I hinted before, answerable to the four Sorts mention'd in the Story of _Nebuchadnezzar_, (viz.) _Magicians_, _Astrologers_, the _Chaldeans_ and the _Southsayers_: How these began to be out of Request, I have mention'd already; but as the _Devil_ has not quite given them over, only laid them aside a little for the present, we may venture to ask what they were, and what Use he made of them when he did employ them.

The Truth is, I think, as it was a very mean Employment for any thing that wears a human Countenance to take up, so I must acknowledge, I think, 'twas a mean low priz'd Business for _Satan_ to take up with; below the very _Devil_; below his Dignity as an Angelic, tho' condemn'd Creature; below him even as a _Devil_; to go to talk to a parcel of ugly, deform'd, spiteful, malicious old Women; to give them Power to do Mischief, who never had a Will, after they enter'd into the State of _old Woman-Hood_, to do any thing else: Why the _Devil_ always chose the ugliest old Women he could find; whether _Wizardism_ made them ugly, that were not so before, and whether the Ugliness, as it was a Beauty in Witchcraft, did not encrease according to the meritorious Performance in the Black-Trade? These are all Questions of Moment to be decided, (if human Learning can arrive to so much Perfection) in Ages to come.

Some say the evil Eye and the wicked Look were Parts of the Enchantment, and that the Witches, when they were in the height of their Business, had a powerful Influence with both; that by looking upon any Person they could bewitch them, and make the _Devil_, _as the Scots express it_, ride through them booted and spurr'd; and that hence came that very significant Saying, _to look like a Witch_.

The strange Work which the _Devil_ has made in the World, by this Sort of his Agents call'd Witches, is such, and so extravagantly wild, that except our Hope that most of those Tales happen not to be true, I know not how any one could be easy to live near a Widow after she was five and fifty.

All the other Sorts of Emissaries which Satan employs, come short of these Ghosts; and Apparitions sometimes come and shew themselves, on particular Accounts, and some of those Particulars respect doing Justice, repairing Wrongs, preventing Mischief; sometimes in Matters very considerable, and on Things so necessary to publick Benefit, that we are tempted to believe they proceed from some vigilant Spirit who wishes us well; but on the other Hand, these Witches are never concern'd in any thing but Mischief; nay, if what they do portends good to one, it issues in hurt to many; the whole Tenour of their Life, their Design in general, is to do Mischief, and they are only employ'd in Mischief, and nothing else: How far they are furnish'd with Ability suitable to the horrid Will they are vested with, remains to be describ'd.

These Witches, 'tis said, are furnish'd with Power suitable to the Occasion that is before them, and particularly that which deserves to be consider'd, as Prediction, and foretelling Events, which I insist the Author of Witchcraft is not accomplish'd with himself, nor can he communicate it to any other: How then _Witches_ come to be able to foretel Things to come, which, 'tis said, the _Devil_ himself cannot know, and which, as I have shewn, 'tis evident he does not know himself, is yet to be determin'd; that Witches do foretel, is certain, from the Witch of _Endor_, who foretold Things to _Saul_, which he knew not before, namely, that he should be slain in Battle the next Day, which accordingly came to pa.s.s.

There are, however, and notwithstanding this particular Case, many Instances wherein the _Devil_ has not been able to foretel approaching Events, and that in Things of the utmost Consequence, and he has given certain foolish or false Answers in such Cases; the DEVIL's Priests, which were summon'd in by the Prophet _Elija_, to decide the Dispute between G.o.d and _Baal_, had the _Devil_ been able to have inform'd them of it, would certainly have receiv'd Notice from him, of what was intended against them by _Elija_; that is to say, that they would be all cut in pieces; for Satan was not such a Fool as not to know that _Baal_ was a Non-Ent.i.ty, a Nothing, at best a dead Man, perish'd and rotting in his Grave; for _Baal_ was _Bell_ or _Belus_, an ancient King of the _a.s.syrian_ Monarchy, and he could no more answer by Fire to consume the Sacrifice, than he could raise himself from the dead.

But the Priests of _Baal_ were left of their Master to their just Fate, namely, to be a Sacrifice to the Fury of a deluded People; hence I infer his Inability, for it would have been very unkind and ungrateful in him not to have answer'd them, if he had been able. There is another Argument raised here most justly against the _Devil_, with Relation to his being under Restraint, and that of greater Eminence than we imagine, and it is drawn from this very Pa.s.sage, thus; 'tis not to be doubted but that _Satan_, who has much of the Element put into his Hands, as Prince of the Air, had a Power, or was able potentially speaking, to have answer'd _Baal_'s Priests by Fire; Fire being in Vertue of his airy Princ.i.p.ality a Part of his Dominion; but he was certainly _withheld_ by the Superior Hand, which gave him that Dominion, I mean _withheld_ for the Occasion only: So in another Case, it was plain that _Balaam_, who was one of those Sorts of _Chaldeans_ mention'd above, who dealt in _Divinations_ and _Inchantments_, was withheld from cursing Israel.

Some are of Opinion that _Balaam_ was not a Witch or a Dealer with the _Devil_ because 'tis said of him, or rather he says it of himself, that he saw the Visions of G.o.d, _Numb._ xxiv. 16. _He hath said_, who _heard the Words of_ G.o.d, _and knew the Knowledge of the most High, which saw the Visions of the Almighty, falling into a_ TRANCE, _but having his Eyes open_: Hence they alledge he was one of those Magi, which St.

_Augustin_ speaks of, _de Divinatione_, who by the Study of Nature, and by the Contemplation of created Beings came to the Knowledge of the Creature; and that _Balaam_'s Fault was, that being tempted by the Rewards and Honours that the King promised him, he intended to have curs'd _Israel_; but when his Eyes were open'd, and that he saw they were G.o.d's own People, he durst not do it; they will have it therefore, that except, _as above_, _Balaam_ was a good Man, or at least that he had the Knowledge of the true G.o.d, and the Fear of that G.o.d upon him, and that he honestly declares this, _Numb._ xxii. 18. _If_ Balak _would give me his House full of Silver and Gold, I cannot go beyond the Word of the Lord_ MY G.o.d: Where tho' he is call'd a false Prophet by some, he evidently owns G.o.d, and a.s.sumes a Property in him, as other Prophets did; MY G.o.d, and I cannot go beyond his Orders; but that which gives me a better Opinion of _Balaam_ than all this is, his plain Prophesy of Christ, Chap. xxiv. 17. where he calls him the Star of _Jacob_, and declares, _I shall see him, but not now, I shall behold him, but not nigh; there shall come a Star out of_ Jacob, _and a Scepter shall rise out of_ Israel, _and shall smite the Corners of_ Moab, _and destroy all the Children of_ Seth, all which express not a Knowledge only, but a Faith in Christ; but I have done preaching, this is all by the by, I return to my Business, which is the History.

There is another Piece of dark Practice here, which lies between Satan and his particular Agents, and which they must give us an Answer to, when they can, which I think will not be in haste; and that is about the obsequious _Devil_ submitting to be call'd up into Visibility, whenever an old Woman has her Hand cross'd with a white Six-pence, _as they Call it_: One would think that instead of these vile Things call'd Witches, being sold to the _Devil_, the _Devil_ was really sold for a Slave to them; for how far soever Satan's Residence is off of this State of Life, they have Power, it seems, to fetch him from home, and oblige him to come at their Call.

I can give little Account of this, only that indeed so it is; nor is the Thing so strange in its self, as the Methods to do it are mean, foolish, and ridiculous; as making a Circle and dancing in it, p.r.o.nouncing such and such Words, saying the Lord's Prayer backward, and the like; now is this agreeable to the Dignity of the Prince of the Air or Atmosphere, that he should be commanded forth with no more Pomp or Ceremony than that of muttering a few Words, such as the old Witches and he agree about? or is there something else in it, which none of us or themselves understand?

Perhaps, indeed, he is always with those People call'd Witches and Conjurers, or at least some of his _Camp Volant_ are always present, and so upon the least call of the Wizard, it is but putting off the misty Cloak and showing themselves.

Then we have a Piece of mock Pageantry in bringing those Things call'd witches or Conjurers to Justice, that is, first to know if a Woman be a Witch, throw her into a Pond, and if she be a Witch, she will swim, and it is not in her own Power to prevent it; if she does all she can to sink her self, it will not do, she will swim like a Cork. Then that a Rope will not hang a Witch, but you must get a With, a green Osyer; that if you nail a Horse-Shoe on the Sill of the Door, she cannot come into the House, or go out, if she be in; these and a thousand more, too simple to be believ'd, are yet so vouch'd, so taken for granted, and so universally receiv'd for Truth, that there is no resisting them without being thought atheistical.

What Methods to take to know, who are _Witches_, I really know not; but on the other Side, I think there are variety of Methods to be used to know who are not; _W--- G---_, Esq; is a Man of Fame, his Parts are great, because his Estate is so; he has threescore and eight Lines of _Virgil_ by rote, and they take up many of the Intervals of his merry Discourses; he has just as many witty Stories to please Society; when they are well told, _once over_, he begins again, and so he lives in a round of Wit and Learning; he is a Man of great Simplicity and Sincerity; you must be careful not to mistake my Meaning, as to the Word Simplicity; some take it to mean Honesty, and so do I, only that it has a Negative attending it, in his particular Case; in a Word, _W---- G----_ is an honest Man, and no _Conjurer_; a good Character, I think, and without Impeachment to his Understanding, he may be a Man of Worth for all that; take the other s.e.x, there is the Lady _H----_ is another Discovery; bless us! what Charms in that Face! How bright those Eyes!

How flowing white her b.r.e.a.s.t.s! How sweet her Voice? add to all, how heavenly, divinely good her Temper! How inimitable her Behaviour! How spotless her Virtue! How perfect her Innocence! and to sum up her Character, we may add, the Lady _H----_ is no _Witch_; sure none of our Beau Critics will be so unkind now as to censure me in those honest Descriptions, as if I meant that my good Friend _W---- G----_ Esq; or my ador'd Angel, the bright, the charming Lady _H----_ were Fools; but what will not those Savages, call'd Critics, do, whose barbarous Nature enclines them to trample on the brightest Characters, and to cavil on the clearest Expressions?

It might be expected of me, however, in justice to my Friends, and to the bright Characters of abundance of Gentlemen of this Age, who, by the Depth of their Politics, and the Height of their Elevations might be suspected, and might give us Room to charge them with Subterranean Intelligence; I say, it might be expected that I should clear up their Fame, and a.s.sure the World concerning them, even by Name, that they are no _Conjurers_, that they do not deal with the _Devil_, at least, not by the Way Witchcraft and Divination, such as Sir _T---k_, _E--- B---_, Esq; my Lord _Homily_, Coll. _Swagger_, _Jeoffry Well with_, Esq; Capt.

_Harry Go Deeper_, Mr. _Wellcome Woollen_, Citizen and Merchant Taylor of _London_, _Henry Cadaver_, Esq; the D---- of _Caerfilly_, the Marquess of _Sillyhoo_, Sir _Edward Thro' and Thro'_ Bart. and a World of fine Gentlemen more, whose great Heads and Weighty Understandings have given the World such Occasion to challenge them with being at least descended from the _Magi_, and perhaps engaged with old Satan in his Politics and Experiments; but I, that have such good Intelligence among _Satan_'s Ministers of State, as is necessary to the present Undertaking, am thereby well able to clear up their Characters: and I doubt not, but they will value themselves upon it, and acknowledge their Obligation to me, for letting the World know the _Devil_ does not pretend to have had any Business with them, or to have enroll'd them in the List of his Operators; _in a Word_, that none of them are _Conjurers_: Upon which Testimony of mine, I expect they be no longer charg'd with, or so much as suspected of having an unlawful Quant.i.ty of Wit, or having any Sorts of it about them, that are contraband or prohibited, but that for the future they pa.s.s unmolested, and be taken for nothing but what they are, (_viz._) very honest worthy Gentlemen.

CHAP. X.

_Of the various Methods the Devil takes to converse with Mankind._

Having spoken something of Persons, and particularly of such as the _Devil_ thinks fit to employ in his Affairs in the World, it comes next of course to say something of the Manner how he communicates his Mind to them, and by them to the rest of his Acquaintance in the World.

I take the _Devil_ to be under great Difficulties in his Affairs on his Part, especially occasion'd by the Bounds which are set him, or which Policys oblige him to set to himself, in his Access to the conversing with Mankind; 'tis evident he is not permitted to fall upon them with Force and Arms, that is to say, to muster up his infernal Troops, and attack them with Fire and Sword; if he was not loose to act in this Manner as he was able, by his own seraphic Power to have destroy'd the whole Race, and even the Earth they dwelt upon, so he would certainly, and long ago have effectually done it; his particular Interests and Inclinations are well enough known.

But in the next Place, as he is thus restrain'd from Violence, so Prudentials restrain him in all his other Actings with Mankind; and being confin'd to Stratagem, and soft still Methods, such as Persuasion, Allurement, feeding the Appet.i.te, prompting, and then gratifying corrupt Desires, and the like; he finds it for his Purpose not to appear in Person, except very rarely, and then in Disguise; but to act all the rest in the Dark, under the Vizor of Art and Craft, making Use of Persons and Methods conceal'd, or at least not fully understood or discover'd.

As to the Persons whom he employs, I have taken some Pains you see to discover some of them; but the Methods he uses with them, either to inform and instruct, and give Orders to them, or to converse with other People by them, these are very particular, and deserve some Place in our Memoirs, particularly as they may serve to remove some of our Mistakes, and to take off some of the frightful Ideas we are apt to entertain in Prejudice of this great Manager; as if he was no more to be match'd in his Politics, than he would be to be match'd in his Power, if it was let loose; which is so much a Mistake, that on the contrary, we read of several People that have abused and cheated the _Devil_, a Thing, which I cannot say, is very honest nor just, notwithstanding the old Latin Proverb, _Fallere fallentem non est fraus_, (which Men construe, or rather render, by way of Banter Upon Satan) 'tis no Sin to cheat the _Devil_, which for all that, upon the whole I deny, and alledge, that let the _Devil_ act how he will by us, we ought to deal fairly by him.

But to come to the Business, without Circ.u.mlocutions; I am to enquire how Satan issues out his Orders, gives his Instructions and fully delivers his Mind to his Emissaries, of whom I have mention'd some in the t.i.tle to Chap. IX. In order to this, you must form an Idea of the _Devil_ sitting in great State, in open Campaign, with all his Legions about him, in the height of the Atmosphere; or if you will, at a certain Distance from the Atmosphere, and above it, that the Plan of his Encampment might not be hurried round its own Axis, with the Earth's diurnal Motion, which might be some Disturbance to him.

By this fix'd Situation, the Earth performing its Rotation, he has every Part and Parcel of it brought to a direct Opposition to him, and consequently to his View once in twenty four Hours: The last time I was there, if I remember right, he had this Quarter of the World, which we call Christendom, just under his Eye; and as the Motion is not so swift, but that his piercing Opticks can take a strict View of it _en pa.s.sant_; for the Circ.u.mference of it being but twenty one thousand Miles, and its circular Motion being full twenty four Hours performing, he has something more than an Hour to view every thousand Miles, which, to his supernatural Penetration, is not worth naming.

As he takes thus a daily View of all the Circle, and an hourly View of the Parts, he is fully Master of all Transactions, at least such as are done above Board by all Mankind; and then he dispatches his Emissaries or _Aid du Camps_ to every Part with his Orders and Instructions: Now these Emissaries, you are to understand, are not the _Witches_ and _Diviners_, who I spoke of above, for I call them also Emissaries; but they are all _Devils_ or (as you know they are call'd) _Devil_'s Angels; and these may, perhaps, come and converse personally with the Sub-emissaries I mention'd, to be ready for their Support and a.s.sistance on all Occasions of Business: These are those _Devils_ which the Witches are said to raise; for we can hardly suppose the Master _Devil_ comes himself, at the Summons of every ugly old Woman.

These run about into every Nook and Corner, wherever Satan's Business calls them, and are never wanting to him; but are the most diligent _Devils_ imaginable; like the _Turkish Chaiux_, they no sooner receive their Errand, but they execute it with the utmost Alacrity; and as to their Speed, it may be truly written as a Motto, upon the Head of every individual _Devil_,

_Non indiget calcaribus._

These are those, who they tell us our Witches, Sorcerers, Wizards, and such Sorts of Folks converse freely with, and are therefore call'd their _Familiars_; and as they tell us, come to them in human Shapes, talk to them with articulate plain Voices, as if Men, and that yet the said Witches, _&c._ know them to be _Devils_.

History has not yet enlighten'd us in this Part of useful Knowledge, or at least not sufficiently for a Description of the Persons or Habits of these Sorts of Appearances; as what Shapes they take up, what Language they speak, and what particular Works they perform, so we must refer it to farther Enquiry; but if we may credit History, we are told many famous Stories of these Appearances; for Example, the famous Mother _Lakland_, who was burnt for a Witch at _Ipswich_, _Anno_ 1646, confessed at the Time of her Execution, or a little before it, that she had frequent Conversation with the _Devil_ himself; that she being very poor, and withal of a devilish pa.s.sionate, cruel and revengeful Disposition before, used to wish she had it in her Power to do such and such mischievous Things to some that she hated; and that the _Devil_ himself, who, it seems, knew her Temper, came to her one Night as she lay in her Bed, and was between sleeping and waking, and speaking in a deep hollow Voice, told her; if she would serve him in some Things he would employ her to do, she should have her Will of all her Enemies, and should want for nothing: That she was much afraid at first, but that he solliciting her very often, bad her not be afraid of him, and still urg'd her to yield, and as she says, struck his Claw into her Hand, and tho' it did not hurt her, made it bleed, and with the Blood wrote the Covenants, that is to say, the Bargain between them: being ask'd what was in them, and whether he requir'd her to curse or deny G.o.d or Christ?

She said no.

N. B. I do not find she told them whether the _Devil_ wrote it with a Pen, or whether on Paper or Parchment, nor whether she sign'd it or no, but it seems he carry'd it away with him. I suppose, if Satan's Register were examin'd, it might be found among the Archives of h.e.l.l, the Rolls of his _acta Publica_; and when his Historiographer Royal publishes them, we may look for it among them.

Then he furnish'd her with three _Devils_, to wait upon her (I suppose) for she confess'd they were to be employ'd in her Service; they attended in the Shapes of two little Dogs and a Mole: The first she bewitch'd was her own Husband, by which he lay a while in great Misery and died; then she sent to one Captain _Beal_ and burnt a new s.h.i.+p of his just built, which had never been at Sea; these and many other horrid Things she did and confess'd, and having been twenty Years a Witch, at last the _Devil_ left her, and she was burnt as she deserv'd.

That some extraordinary Occasions may bring these Agents of the _Devil_, nay, sometimes the _Devil_ himself, to a.s.sume human Shapes, and appear to other People we cannot doubt; he did thus in the Case of our Saviour _as a Tempter_, and some think he did so to _Mana.s.ses_ as a Familiar, who the Scripture charges with Sorcery, and having a Familiar or Devil; Fame tells us that St. _Dunstan_ frequently converst with him, and finally, took him by the Nose; and so of others.

But in these modern Ages of the World, he finds it much more to his Purpose to work under Ground as I have observ'd, and to keep upon the Reserve; so that we have no authentick Accounts of his personal Appearance, but what are very antient or very remote from our Faith, as well as our Enquiry.

It seems to be a Question that would bear some debating, whether all Apparitions are not _Devils_ or from the _Devil_; but there being so many of those Apparitions which we call Spirits, which really a.s.sume Shapes and make Appearances in the World, upon such Accounts as we know _Satan_ himself scorns to be employ'd in, that I must dismiss the Question in favour of the _Devil_; a.s.suring them, that as he never willingly did any good in his Life, so he would be far from giving himself the Trouble of setting one Foot into the World, on such an Errand; and for that Reason we maybe a.s.sur'd those certain Apparitions, which we are told came to detect a Murther in _Gloucesters.h.i.+re_, and others who appear'd to prevent the ruining an Orphan for want of finding a Deed, that was not lost, was certainly some other Power equally concern'd, and not the _Devil_.

On the other Hand, neither will it follow that _Satan_ never appears in human Shape; for tho' every Apparition may not be the _Devil_, yet it does not follow that the _Devil_ never makes an Apparition: All I shall say to it is, as I have mention'd before, that generally speaking, the _Devil_ finds it more for his Purpose, to have his Interest in the World propagated another Way; namely, in private, and his personal Appearances are reserv'd for Things only of extraordinary Consequence, and, as I may say, of evident Necessity, where his Honour is concern'd, and where his Interest could be carried on no other Way; not forgetting to take Notice that this is very seldom.

It remains to enquire, what then those Things are which we make so much stir about, and which are call'd _Apparitions_, or Spirits a.s.suming human Shapes, and shewing themselves to People on particular Occasions?

whether they are evil Spirits or good? and tho', indeed, this is out of my Way at this Time, and does not relate at all to the _Devil_'s History, yet I thought it not amiss to mention it; (1.) Because, as I have said, I do not wholly exclude Satan from all Concern in such Things; and (2.) Because I shall dismiss the Question with so very short an Answer, namely, that we may determine which are and which are not the _Devil_'s, by the Errand they come upon; every one to his own Business; if it comes of a good Errand, you may certainly acquit the _Devil_ of it, conclude him innocent, and that he has no hand in it; if it comes of a wicked and devilish Errand, you may e'en take him up upon Suspicion, 'tis ten to one but you find him at the Bottom of it.

Next to Apparitions, we find Mankind disturb'd by abundance of little odd reserv'd Ways which the _Devil_ is shrewdly suspected of having a Hand in, such as _Dreams_, _Noises_, _Voices_, &c. smells of Brimstone, Candles burning blue, and the like.

As to Dreams, I have nothing to say in Satan's Prejudice at all there; I make no Question but he deals very much in that Kind of Intelligence, and why should he not? we know _Heaven_ it self formerly converst very often with the greatest of Men, by the same Method, and the _Devil_ is known to mimick the Methods, as well as the Actions of his Maker; whether Heaven has not quite left off that Way of working, we are not certain; but we pretty well know the _Devil_ has not left it, and I believe some Instances may be given where his Wors.h.i.+p has been really seen and talk'd to in sleep, as much as if the Person had been awake with his Eyes open.

These are to be distinguish'd too, pretty much by the Goodness or Badness of the Subject; how often have Men committed Murther, Robbery and Adultery in a Dream, and at the same time except an extraordinary Agitation of the Soul, and express'd by extraordinary Noises in the Sleep, by violent Sweating and other such Ways, the Head has never been remov'd from the Pillow, or the Body so much as turn'd in the Bed?

Whether in such Cases, the Soul with all the Pa.s.sions and Affections being agitated, and giving their full a.s.sent to the Facts, of whatever Kind soever, the Man is not as guilty as if the Sins so dream'd of his committing, had been actually committed? tho' it be no Doubt to me, but that it is so, yet as it is foreign to the present Affair, and not at all relating to the _Devil_'s History, I leave it to the Reverend Doctors of the Church, as properly belonging to them to decide.

I knew a Person who the _Devil_ so haunted with naked Women, fine beautiful Ladies in Bed with him, and Ladies of his Acquaintance too, offering their Favours to him, and all in his Sleep; so that he seldom slept without some such Entertainment; the Particulars are too gross for my Story, but he gave me several long Accounts of his Night's _Amours_, and being a Man of a virtuous Life and good Morals, it was the greatest Surprize to him imaginable; for you cannot doubt but that the cunning _Devil_ made every thing be acted to the Life with him, and in a manner the most wicked; he own'd with Grief to me, that the very first Attack the _Devil_ made upon him, was with a very beautiful Lady of his Acquaintance, who he had been really something freer than ordinary with in their common Conversation; This Lady he brought to him in a Posture for Wickedness, and wrought up his Inclination so high in his Sleep, that he, as he thought, actually went about to debauch her, she not at all resisting; but that he wak'd in the very Moment, to his particular Satisfaction.

He was greatly concern'd at this Part, namely, that he really gave the Consent of his Will to the Fact, and wanted to know if he was not as guilty of Adultery, as if he had lain with her; indeed he decided the Question against himself, so forcibly, that I, who was of the same Opinion before, had nothing to say against it; however, I confirm'd him in it, by asking him these Questions.